(a) Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an apparatus for providing an optimal path for a voice call, and more particularly to a network operator negotiation apparatus for providing an optimal path for a voice call through a negotiation with a network operator, and a telephone system and method using the same.
(b) Description of the Related Art
With the current change of monopoly regulations within the telecommunication industry, special telecommunication service providers have appeared providing inexpensive call charges to users using new technologies such as VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) implemented for both long-distance and short-distance calls. Such special telecommunication service providers allow a user to select one telecommunication service provider using identification numbers assigned to the telecommunication service providers and to make a telephone call using a telecommunication line assigned to the selected telecommunication service provider.
However, among such special telecommunication service providers, a leading enterprise dominates the market for special telecommunication services. Such a predominant position of the leading enterprise is due to the enterprise using its funds for good advertisement rather than good quality of service or inexpensive call charges. Consequently, there arises a problem in that consumers may only use an expensive telecommunication line of the leading enterprise without recognizing a variety of competitive goods provided by lesser known special telecommunication service providers.
On the other hand, each special telecommunication service provider attempts to offer a competitive price to consumers by presenting an extraordinarily inexpensive price for specific countries to consumers or by securing a private line between one specific area and another. However, such a competitive price is only available when consumers become aware of it. As a result, the special telecommunication service providers have a structure that results in an increased load on the consumers due to advertisement costs rather than telecommunication line costs.
Moreover, although some network operators attempt to provide additional services using a private line connecting between a plurality of areas, for the most part, idle resources are unused due to the marketing costs that would need to be expended to utilize such idle resources. As conventional techniques for overcoming the above problems, there exist Korean Patent Application Publication No. 1999-68258, which is owned by Jong-Kil, Kang, titled “Telecommunication terminal containing telephone charge Information”, Korean Patent Application Publication No. 1999-46400, which is owned by Sewon Telecom Incorporated, titled “Auto telephone number selection apparatus and telephone docking system including the same”, Korean Patent Application Publication No. 2001-25163, which is owned by Ntel Technologies, Incorporated, titled “Service of connection to telecommunication service provider providing most inexpensive telephone charge based on charge system”, Korean Patent Application Publication No. 2003-72517, which is owned by Chul-Sung, Lee, titled “Lowest charge telephone connecting method”, and the like.
In the above-mentioned conventional technologies, a telephone terminal receives information on telephone charges from telecommunication service providers and stores the received telephone charge information in a memory or database contained within the terminal. Then, when a user of the terminal makes a call, the telephone number is compared with the telephone charge information for making a voice call through a telecommunication service provider stored in the memory or database to offer a lowest telephone charge service to the user. However, with these technologies, there is a problem in that it is difficult to meet real-time price fluctuation of the telecommunication service providers, and also, of selecting a telecommunication service provider depending on quality of service in addition to the telephone charges of the telecommunication service providers.